Planning and Developing a Longer Work

[DirkPitt06]

I have several idea for novels (or more likely novellas knowing my attention span and work ethic), and my question to you lot is how do you plan and keep track of plot threads and arcs in your longer works? I can't seem to find a good way to keep track of them all and I feel like I often rush the end of a piece without fully developing the little threads started.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

A few good tips I've used in the past are to develop character sheets for not only your main players, but for the off branches too, that way you can always come back to those sheets and recall even the minor details. Fans can recall things sometimes that you can't, so you don't want the back lash of that coming back at you. These sheets can allow you to not only recall facial details, or genetic make-up, but also how some characters are related to others.

Another thought is to keep a writing pad near you, that way as you write, you can quickly jot down what idea may pop into your head that could be later used for that character, or whatever minor changes you fear you may forget.

When I've written longer pieces of work, and feel as if I'm rushing it, I stop, walk away, then come back and read over what I've written. I make edits, do a few restructuring of a sentence and then I go back to adding more text. If I feel rushed again, I just repeat the process, this time taking off where I'd left off before. Just slow down and walk away. It really will allow your mind to clear and you can come back and focus on where you want to take your story.

Good luck with your writing.

 

[PennLady]

Someone put me onto a program called yWriter, from Spacejock softwear, I think. It's freeware, and is designed to help write stories. There are places to outline your characters, plots, etc. I haven't quite figured it out -- when I need notes, I just write stuff in Word -- but you might want to try it.

 

[sr71plt]

I make written notes on people and places (to try to maintain consistency), but most of my organization is at the back of my mind--and stays there until I'm in the writing process.

 

[lovecraft68]

I just finished a story that consisted of 51 installments, roughly 246 lit pages. It took me 16 months start to finish.

I had one piece of paper with three sentences describing the major event of each chapter and only did that in 10 chapter blocks. Nothing else. So it all depends on how confident you are and how much of the story you can "feel"

If you have a short attention span stick with short stories. All the outlining in the world will not keep you writing.

 

[madam_noe]

A trick most authors use is to write a summary. basically, for example, if in MS word your work was 300 pages double spaced, roughly 90,000 words, you should have a 15 page summary, single spaced. In fact, in the publishing world, agents and editors require this summary as a guide.

You just write the plot out simplistically. For example:

Dick is a 29 year old man, an accountant, on vacation alone in Thailand. He meets Tina, an American belly dancer aged 24, performing in a strip club. They flirt, he buys a private dance, and they have sex.

That's a three sentence summary that could be 2-4 literotica page story. When you do a summary plot it all out but keep it general. Dialog belongs in the story, not the summary.

I do this for almost all my work and I admit for the stories on here I don't, you can tell, later chapters look bizarre compared to earlier ones. It's a valuable tool, and if you print it out you have a handy space to make notes as you go along.

Good luck!

 

[JackLuis]

In your example, there is no conflict to the story. I believe that the story would be another ho hum stroker with no reason for anyone to remember it. Depending upon your objectives, this may not be a bad thing, but it would be a waste of time, unless you're just practicing your dialog writing.

How about:
Dick is a 29 year old man, an accountant, on vacation alone in Thailand.

He meets Tina, an American belly dancer aged 24, performing in a strip club.

He tries to buy a private dance but she asks too much because as a Caucasian she can get a lot more money from Thai customers, who want to fondle a white girl.

He can't get her out of his mind and goes back the next night and pays her price.

She discovers that the mild mannered accountant swings a mighty instrument and they have sex.

Leave a some space between sentences to allow for filling in the other things that spring up in the process.

It's nice to see authorly things on the AH.

 

[sr71plt]

I very much doubt that anyone knows how "most writers" actually approach this.

 

[madam_noe]

In your example, there is no conflict to the story. I believe that the story would be another ho hum stroker with no reason for anyone to remember it. Depending upon your objectives, this may not be a bad thing, but it would be a waste of time, unless you're just practicing your dialog writing.

How about:
Dick is a 29 year old man, an accountant, on vacation alone in Thailand.

He meets Tina, an American belly dancer aged 24, performing in a strip club.

He tries to buy a private dance but she asks too much because as a Caucasian she can get a lot more money from Thai customers, who want to fondle a white girl.

He can't get her out of his mind and goes back the next night and pays her price.

She discovers that the mild mannered accountant swings a mighty instrument and they have sex.

Leave a some space between sentences to allow for filling in the other things that spring up in the process.

It's nice to see authorly things on the AH.

It was a bare bones example thought up on the spot, and in reality it would be just the first paragraph of a summary. I didn't feel like going on too long, I just wanted a short example of the form of a summary, not a complete example of what a summary should be. Nice changes though.

I could show the summary for a story I've posted on here but it's too damn long. And this is what most professional novelists do, it's an industry standard. They don't have to, it's just a common practice. I learned this as a student, I taught this when I was a creative writing professor, and I use it in my own writing as do many friends who are published.

In the end you gotta come up with your own system, but it's good to look at what the majority do as a base to figure out your own system.

 

[Feotakahari]

One thing I've been doing that might be fairly rare on this site--even if I intend to upload a story in chapters, I don't upload any of it until it's reached a point that could be used as an ending (not necessarily the real ending.) Before each ending, I go back through the chapters and see what I have and haven't developed, making changes as necessary. (I'm not sure how well this will work with novel-length works, but it worked okay for a seven-chapter story.)

(For what it's worth, I've tried summaries as well, but they don't really work for me. Once I write out what the characters actually do, it often turns out that their personalities and the specific circumstances I've set up somehow prevent them from following the arc I'd originally intended for them.)

 

[sr71plt]

but it's good to look at what the majority do as a base to figure out your own system.

Again, there's no reliable index to what the "majority" do on anything like this.

Take a toll of what some other folks do, yes, and use that as possibilities for how you eventually decide to approach it.

But forget trying to figure out what the "majority" does.

 

[JackLuis]

It was a bare bones example thought up on the spot, and in reality it would be just the first paragraph of a summary. I didn't feel like going on too long, I just wanted a short example of the form of a summary, not a complete example of what a summary should be. Nice changes though.

I could show the summary for a story I've posted on here but it's too damn long. And this is what most professional novelists do, it's an industry standard. They don't have to, it's just a common practice. I learned this as a student, I taught this when I was a creative writing professor, and I use it in my own writing as do many friends who are published.

In the end you gotta come up with your own system, but it's good to look at what the majority do as a base to figure out your own system.

I hear you.

I took a course and the Prof was a Hollywood writer, who professed the Cambellian Hero's Myth, nine step novel development. Way too complicated for me to work out, and learn to type too.

I kept getting lost in the story, to fit it together according to plan.

Eight long years that novel has lingered in my hard drive.

NanowriMo, gave me a 55K words of pretty good stuff, but even with now ~150K words the story is less than half over. But Cletus get fucked in several ways.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

One thing I've been doing that might be fairly rare on this site--even if I intend to upload a story in chapters, I don't upload any of it until it's reached a point that could be used as an ending (not necessarily the real ending.) Before each ending, I go back through the chapters and see what I have and haven't developed, making changes as necessary. (I'm not sure how well this will work with novel-length works, but it worked okay for a seven-chapter story.)

(For what it's worth, I've tried summaries as well, but they don't really work for me. Once I write out what the characters actually do, it often turns out that their personalities and the specific circumstances I've set up somehow prevent them from following the arc I'd originally intended for them.)

I like the idea of doing that. I'm the first to admit I have loaded chapters to stories that aren't complete, hoping that the story would continue in my mind - and sadly three times it has failed. So now, I'm writing a much longer piece and holding it until it's finished and I'm considering pulling the 3 that are dangling from Lit., rewriting them and then resubmitting - only when finished.

 

[daczew]

Very good! http://www.lzxin.info/g.php

 

[DirkPitt06]

I can't believe I forgot to subscribe to this damned thing. Thank you all, it's very useful advice.